Are you allowed to accept a Visa credit card for a loan payment? I found the following within the Visa rules.


Merchants Not Participating in Debt Repayment Program – U.S. Region
A U.S. Merchant not participating in the Debt Repayment Program may accept Visa Cards for
payments on existing debt.
The Merchant must:
• Be registered as a Limited Acceptance Merchant of Visa Debit Category Cards that are accepted
as a means of payment in all channels where payments are accepted (i.e., Card-Absent
Environments and Card-Present Environments, as applicable). A Merchant may accept all Visa
Cards for any of its other lines of businesses that do not collect payments on existing debt. The
Merchant may accept Visa Business Check Cards as payment for a consumer debt outside the
Debt Repayment Program.
• Be properly assigned Merchant Category Code 6012, "Financial Institutions – Merchandise and
Services," or 6051, "Non-Financial Institutions – Foreign Currency, Money Orders (not Wire
Transfer), Travelers Cheques"
• Submit the debt repayment indicator for all payments of existing consumer debt, as specified in the
applicable VisaNet Manuals
• Accept payment only for consumer auto loans, credit card debt, mortgage loans, and student debt
types

General Prohibitions

Refinance Existing Debt

A Merchant must not accept a Card to collect or refinance an existing debt unless either:
• The Transaction results from conversion of a Merchant's existing card program to the Visa or Visa Electron Program
• The Merchant is a government agency and the Transaction represents a loan payment. In this case, the Transaction amount must not equal the loan balance unless it is the final payment.

Effective through 14 October 2013, at the option of a Visa Region, a Merchant may accept a Visa Card or Visa Electron Card as payment for an existing debt, provided the debt is not considered uncollectible (e.g., payments to a collection agency or an attempt to recover funds for a dishonored check).

Effective 15 October 2013, at the option of Visa, a Merchant may accept a Visa Card or Visa Electron Card as payment for an existing debt, provided the debt is not considered uncollectible (e.g., payments to a collection agency or an attempt to recover funds for a dishonored check).

The Transaction must not represent collection of a dishonored check.
A Merchant must not accept Cardholder payments for previous Card charges.


Refinancing of Existing Debt – U.S. Region
A U.S. Merchant must not accept a Card to collect or refinance an existing debt that has been deemed uncollectible by the Merchant providing the associated goods or services.
A U.S. Merchant must not accept a Visa Consumer Credit Card or Commercial Visa Product, issued by a U.S. Issuer, to collect or refinance an existing debt.1

1A Visa Business Check Card is exempt from this prohibition.

The key phrase in the rules that you cite is second from the bottom.


You can accept a debit card for a loan payment, but not a credit card.